


luceat lux vestra

by exovelvetwriters



Category: EXO (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, EXOVelvet, F/M, Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28589847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exovelvetwriters/pseuds/exovelvetwriters
Summary: A shy stuttering sentinel befriends an ex- sensational superhero/prisoner who had succumbed into darkness.Genre: Fantasy, Prompt: Luminescence
Relationships: Park Chanyeol & Son Seungwan | Wendy, Park Chanyeol/Son Seungwan | Wendy
Kudos: 11
Collections: EXOVelvetWritersFest 2.0





	luceat lux vestra

_ Content Warning: Mentions of death and violence _

* * *

Chanyeol walked along the dim hallway with calculated steps, a flashlight in hand to lighten his path. He was wearing a blue button on shirt tucked into black khaki pants, and his platinum blond hair gelled neatly was hidden beneath the black pershing cap, his large ears poking through it. His face was evident with exhaustion, and his baggy eyes squirmed as he surveyed for potential intruders. He was not used to being awake at night and asleep during the day.

It was the first day of his night shift work as a security officer at Kang Research-- a secluded top-secret government research institution located on an isolated island, far-away from the civilization.

Before he became a security guard, he was laid off and was replaced by a machine that was said to be more cost-efficient than manned labor in the candy factory he last worked at. He grabbed the first job he was referred to by his uncle, who also works at a different top-secret government agency.

"Be careful there, you will see people and objects far from your imagination," his Uncle Sehun said, which he did not take heed much.

He already surveyed the entirety of the first and second floor, and the remaining would just be the basement where he was. The center was crowded with scientists with their white laboratory coats in the morning, undertaking their respective confidential projects. The organization was said to house research on biotechnology and genetic engineering, none of which Chanyeol knew. He was, afterall, a high school dropout who had to work at a young age because of poverty.

During the night, darkness engulfed the whole area, the sound of the roaring of the waves and the chirping of the crickets covered the whole place. Satisfied that he did not see any trespassers, he was about to turn around when he heard a faint cry coming from one of the rooms.

Chanyeol gasped and remained motionless in his position; goosebumps flared throughout his body. It was not the cries of the bats or seagulls, he was sure. The loud noise came from one of the rooms at the end of the hallway. He took a large breath and carried on his way to the voice.

"He…Hello… Anybody there?" He stammered loudly; his voice echoed in the empty lobby. The somber cry still remained. He tried to open one of the doors of the rooms, but it was locked. He reached another one and found it was unlatched. Chanyeol was not the kind of person who is gutsy and courageous, but his job required it. It might be an animal on the loose from a laboratory or a robber for all he knew.

As he opened the door, he discovered a dark room within a room; a giant glass window separated the two as if the room was meant for observation, just like what he saw from the cop movies. And there he saw, a flickering female body sprawled along the floor, her blonde hair disheveled, embracing herself. It was glowing waveringly and highlighted the edges of the body. She was wearing a blue hospital gown dress, and her arms and legs were covered in bruises and bandages. She looked like sleeping as her eyes were closed. If it not for the injuries present, she would look ethereal.

Chanyeol took steps back out of fright. But his heart softened when he saw the woman winced in pain. He cannot see it clearly because of the darkness, but the woman's face was quite familiar. He thought he saw her before on the television.

"Park, are you already finished there" the voice from his handheld transceiver broke his deep reverie.

"Uhhh…yes," Chanyeol stuttered. "I'm on my way to the grounds."

He ran and left the room afterwards.

___________________

As much as he could, Chanyeol ignored the basement. For the next nights, he scrutinized the whole floor from a safe distance for a minute and two and ran to the elevator afterwards. He definitely did not want to see the glowing lady again.

Minseok, one of the guards in the place, told him all about it one Sunday night as he accompanied him in his night shift. They were at the lobby, seated on their portable camping chair and they munched the chips and drank their beers.

“Who was the lady in the basement, by the way?” Chanyeol asked all of a sudden after their discussion about the latest happenings in the field of basketball.

"Did you live in a rock?" Minseok exclaimed and nearly choked by the beer he was drinking. 

She's Wendy," his closest colleague continued drunkenly, his cheeks flushed due to the effects of the alcohol.” She was from a famous superhero trio, The Velvets.”

“ For all I know, she can produce light from her body, her hands, and blind people through her eyes. She has been active for five to six years, I think, fighting crimes and all that jazz. But then one day, she killed the late Vice President in his house, blinded him apparently”, Minseok continued telling the story lively.

Chanyeol looked at him intently as he absorbed his words. He supposed he heard about her before, but he was busy providing for him and his family.

"She was imprisoned here not long after and heard she applied for parole after her two years of serving. Some people said she deserves to be given one as she protected the citizens for years. The reason why she's here, I don't know. But I see a lot of scientists coming to her room every day”

Chanyeol just nodded. He wondered what happened to Wendy.

___________________

Fate must be testing me, Chanyeol thought one night as he scrambled along the basement hallway with a metal tray filled with club sandwiches and a bottle of water. The sound of heavy rains boomed through the place as he willed himself towards the ex-hero's room. Apparently, the night shift janitor designated to deliver Wendy's food had eloped, so the work was delegated to him instead.

He went inside the room, his legs shaking. By the glass window, he saw that the lady was seated in her bed. She was painting on a large canvas fixated on an easel. Wendy looked vibrant and lively and far from the weakened woman he had seen. 

Chanyeol opened the door through a key and registered his fingerprint at the scanner, just as Minseok instructed.

Wendy was so engrossed in stroking some orange hues that she did not detect the sentinel entering her room. Chanyeol cannot help but gawk at the stunning lady before her. Her silver hair was tied in a bun, with loose ends cascading down. Her cheeks pink and puffy against her pale complexion.

He broke his own trance and forwarded the tray quietly to the side table located at her bedside. As much as possible, he did not want to be noticed.

"Hello, you're cute," Wendy said unabashedly. "You're new here?"

Chanyeol looked up to her, his brown eyes clashed with her blue ones.

"Uhh… y…yes." Chanyeol bumbled, his posture slacked out of shyness.

Wendy giggled.

Having a speech impediment throughout his life, Chanyeol was no stranger to people laughing at his stuttering. But there's something different from Wendy's laugh, it's soft and endearing.

"You remind me of Hugh Grant…" she said as her eyes twinkled at him.

"With all the dimples and the stuttering... Except you're not British and you have large ears…Oh, it reminds me, please tell Yixing to bring me some Four Weddings and a Funeral.. "Wendy requested cheerfully. "I miss some movie marathons," she sighed.

Chanyeol just nodded in agreement and laughed inwardly. He found the way she abruptly moved from one topic to another charming. He has to ask who this Yixing she referred to, he thought.

"I will, Ma'am. Anyways I have to go", Chanyeol said haltingly.

"Ma'am? You're too formal. Just call me Wendy", she stood up and offered her hand. "And you are Mr. Park?" Wendy read the tag name hang on his uniform.

Chanyeol did not want to be impolite, so he shook her soft ones and nodded. Wendy's face closer was more divine, he thought. He can't help but focus on her plump lips.

His stomach then grumbled, which left Wendy laughing. There was a shortage of food in the institution due to the storm, so they have just been scraping on canned soups.

"Here, take some sandwich", Wendy said, sincerely holding onto him the plastic covered food.

Chanyeol did not know whether to take it or not, however, the smell of the roasted ham has tempted him to get it.

The tall sentinel was about to decline when an enormous thunder clapped, which caused him to jump, and the room went black.

"I'll tell Yixing next time to have a generator in this place," Wendy sighed. "Good thing you were with the right person this time."

Right then and there, Chanyeol saw Wendy produced a ball of light on her palm. Chanyeol's eyes widened in awe, and he took a few steps back. Feelings of nervousness also welled up in his chest. What if she'll blind him to death next?

"What are you doing there? I'm not going to harm you. "Wendy said with a pout as she noticed his worried eyes. "Come on here, sit next to me, the food will soon be cold."

Chanyeol couldn't help but obey her request.

___________________

That was the start of their daily rendezvous for weeks. At precisely 7PM, Chanyeol will have the food delivered to her door. Chanyeol would stay there for less than half an hour, as he did not want to get caught slacking off his work. For Chanyeol, delivering food to her had been the highlight of his day. 

He loved to hear Wendy talk with her angelic voice. He found out her morning routine was compromised of laboratory visits and mandated appointments with a government therapist. He found out that she was thrown out in the island so that she would be away from the mainstream society, far from human beings. A glint of sadness in her eyes did not escape Chanyeol’s sight when she told him that.

___________________

As Chanyeol went on his daily task, he caught Wendy one night doing yoga.

“Why are you late tonight? I was so hungry, ” she said as she do the Balasana pose, wearing a matching black tank top and yoga pants that fitted right to the curves of her body . She was bent on the floor, her chest was touching her thighs and her hands stretched forward.

As he gazed through her, he felt a stirring under his belt. He wondered what it would feel like to tangle his body into her flexible ones. He wondered if their body would mesh nicely.

___________________

One night, when they didn't have any entertainment to amuse the two of them, Wendy turned off the lights and drew the constellations through her light across the ceilings. It gave an impression that they were under the stars. They were lying on the bed, Chanyeol’s left arm over her shoulders to accommodate both of them."He was left amazed as she pointed the names of each heavenly body.

What does it feel to have such powers?" Chanyeol asked, his fingers drew swirls in her shoulders.

"At first, I felt immense pressure." Wendy recalled," As a child, I just want to play and study and then BAM," Wendy exaggerated with her hands, "there's this huge burden passed on to me. But as time went by, I began to love it. It’s now engraved on me. It’s part of my persona. I would never know what my life would be if it will be gone." Wendy mused as she looked at the ceiling as if lost in her own reverie.

She then looked up to Chanyeol and met his eyes. As she felt his face was slowly lowering down, she suddenly sat up straight.

"Oh, I think it's getting late." Wendy exclaimed, her eyes glued to her watch as if it was a sight to behold.

Chanyeol weaved a gentle sigh in annoyance and stood up, brushing invisible dusts in his uniform .

"Well, thank you for your astronomy lessons. I will surely not get lost in the space when I become an astronaut," Chanyeol joked. 

Wendy laughed, her pearly teeth were out in the open.

"Well, between the both of us, I am the one who should be thankful for you. In my two years here, I only got a few friends here." Wendy pouted.

Chanyeol felt a certain pang on his chest when he imagined the past guards or even male scientists were flirting with Wendy.

"But not like the way we are, you're kinda special" Wendy winked at him, which made his large ears flush. 

"Anyways, my parole hearing will be in four months, I will miss you" she looked at him longingly.

"I will miss you too."

___________________

One night, when Chanyeol delivered her dinner, he found her lying on her bed, her eyes closed. Her face seemed paler than normal, her arms were painted with bruises, and the usual glimmer in her eyes were gone. 

“What happened”, Chanyeol asked. He tried his best to hide the sadness in his voice.

“I have been subjected to hundreds of shots today,” the prisoner said, a sad smile broke on her face. 

“Is that painful?”

“I can tolerate it,” Wendy assured him. “Besides, it’s the requirement from the government before I go to the parole hearings.” She looked up to him softy, as if she was saying that everything was alright and she was fine.

“What was the injections for?” Chanyeol asked curiously.

“The say it’s they’re just evaluating my light.” Wendy winced in pain as she moved her body.

Chanyeol felt a throbbing stir in his chest upon seeing her fragile. He wished he could her kiss her sufferings away.

_______________________

Everything was going on smoothly until one afternoon, Minseok approached him. 

"Dude, Director Zhang wants to talk to you," Minseok said. Chanyeol's heart skipped a beat. He was worried the Director had known his meaningful encounters with Wendy.

Chanyeol went inside the Director's office. Yixing was seated on his large wooden desk with a pen in hand as he signed papers. The office was painted grey, and it had a window overlooking the ocean. 

"Come in, come in. Take a seat. I'll just finish this," Yixing directed him.

The Director was in his mid-40s, Chanyeol observed. His wrinkles highlighted as he read a file. He then put it on the table and fixated his attention on the employed guard.

"How was your stay here, Mr. Park?" Yixing said with his sinister eyes.

"It's fine." Chanyeol's voice faltered. "I adjusted well."

"This institution contains some government researches and projects that are deemed secret from the public. I hope you're not a tittle-tattle who would spill some of these to the public. The guard before you sold some secrets for some money, and he was now behind bars," Yixing threatened.

Chanyeol gulped and nodded. 

"I heard you were the one requested for the movies for Wendy," Yixing said, his eyes glinted like it knows a lot of hidden secrets. 

"Aaah yeah…… Wendy requested for me to tell it to you," Chanyeol said with a little glint of smile, which didn't escape from Yixing's sight.

"Wendy? First name basis?"

"She said I can call her that."

"I hope you will not remain comfortable in her presence," Yixing warned stood up and went to the window, peeked through the ocean. "She's still a prisoner in this place. She still might harm you. ”

"Wendy, that impulsive child. Such a waste of her power. The government groomed her to be a superhero everyone can depend on, but she just wasted it. Poor her." Yixing continued teasingly.

"She killed a government official with no remorse. Did she tell that to you?" The Director asked him, his lips curved into a sly smile when he saw doubt in Chanyeol’s eyes.

They had not talked much about her past life, Chanyeol realized. Chanyeol slowly came to his senses. What was he doing being chummy with a convicted murderer? Did he not have a sense of self-preservation? Why was he developing feelings for someone who chose to end one’s life?

That night, Chanyeol requested Minseok to deliver Wendy's dinner. 

_ And the day after that. _

_ And the following day. _

On the fourth day, Minseok finally intervened.

"She was looking for you, you know that.” His buffed colleague furrowed his thick eyebrows.” She looks sad too. Go talk to her."

Chanyeol went to her room, slammed her door and walked towards her. She was seated on her bed, reading a book.

"Why did you kill him?" he asked, his brows creased and his face was looking for answers.

________________

Wendy remembered the first time she produced light. It was raining and dark. Her parents are gamblers and drug dealers, so instead of taking care of their child, they're out of the house. She was crying, afraid of the roaring thunders, then she suddenly felt heat coursed through her palms and through her body. The heat she felt was uncomfortable; she thought she will die of fever. When she waved her hands out of discomfort, she was surprised she produced light out of her hands. And then the rest is history.

The next day she showed her powers to her parents. The news of a child having photo kinesis abilities spread to their small town and reached their neighboring cities. She was the town's talk and days after, government officials in suit and tie came to her house to pick her up. She will be honed, they said. She was transferred to the capital, away from her parents. She was given martial arts lessons, taught mental gymnastics courses and made her drink enrichment concoctions to strengthen her powers. She met children of her age who possessed supernatural abilities like her. She felt welcomed and accepted. Wendy forgot the miserable life with her parents, but she still felt a little bit of love for them. 

A series of crimes emerged so the government has no choice but to release them from the basement. Wendy, together with Baekhyun and Yeri they received utmost popularity and recognition from people for years. Crime rates gone down and the public’s sense of security increased. One night, as she came home after winning a fight against bank robbers, sudden news erupted that left her devastated. Her parents were killed by a mafia leader due to debt.

“He killed my parents, assholes they might be but I loved them still” Wendy replied, as she looked over her crossed fingers, unable to meet Chanyeol’s gaze.

“I was a complete mess until I discovered who ordered to kill my parents. I went to the Vice President's house, and out of pure rage I blinded him. The old man was in the top stairs when she blinded him, so-“

“He didn't see the steps and rolled down the stairs, his head and brain scattered?” Chanyeol cut her.

Wendy just nodded.

She left the crime scene during that time but surrendered to the police days shortly. That was the end of her career. 

"Did… did you feel any remorse?"

"I did not mean to kill him." Wendy confessed as tears fell from her eyes.”I just want him to feel the pain. He had it coming still…. and I think my revenge was valid.”

She expected Chanyeol to leave because that was what Baekhyun and Yeri did when news of her committed murder came out. But she felt him envelop her in his embrace, her tears wet his shirt. She looked up in his eyes and she saw not a single hint of judgement.

_______________________________

"Park, please go to the laboratory A221 and get the files on my table please," A cheeky scientist requested him to do one day while walking along the building.

He went inside the said laboratory. It was filled with researchers dressed in white coats typing on their laptops and peeking through microscopes. 

"The antidote was working on Wendy," a scientist who was looking in a microscope exclaimed. Chanyeol remained frozen in his place as people then gathered around to see the findings.

""Her power is now weakening. If we continue to inject her the antidote- LY1227 for two months every day, I think it will be finally gone." Another researcher declared.

"Is she gonna die?"

That moment, Chanyeol's world seemed to stop.

"Oh no, she will still be fine. However, she will no longer have the ability to generate light ."

Chanyeol exhaled a breath he had not realized he’d been confining.

He connected them all:  _ the first night he saw her, the frequent injections, her weakening body. _

_ Her light will be gone. _

_ _________________ _

That midnight, as Kang Research went asleep, he sneaked her outside the building. He had promised her the last week that they will stroll out one evening. She wore a purple sheath dress underneath a brown knitted cardigan.

They walked along the grassy cliff which overlooked the vast dark ocean and sat on a bench with their hands clasped on each other’s.

"This is beautiful." Wendy exclaimed, her eyes wide as she mesmerized the pitch black sky with the stars topped on it. “It’s been awhile since I went out.” She faced him with her sunny smile.

"That was nothing," Chanyeol bumbled shyly, as he hid his flushed face due to her proximity.

Wendy exhaled the cold air breeze, her eyes closed.

"After the parole hearing, I want to be back to be a superhero," Wendy chirped "I miss Baek and Yeri. I hope they will still accept me. I promise I will no longer do something that they will despise."

Chanyeol had been debating himself if he should tell her what he discovered. However, he did not want to spoil the night, so he remained quiet. Her power had become her identity, her sense of being; if she discovered that her power will be slowly taken by her, for sure, she will be devastated.

As the moonlight shone on her silver hair and pale face, he discovered that she was lightness personified.

_ That was the perfect moment.  _

He called her name softly and she faced him, her eyes questioned him.

He leaned into her, cradled her face and lowered his lips onto hers. He felt dizzy and tingles climbed on his spine. Wendy held the sides of his face as she deepened the kiss.

As they cherished their moment, they do not know that a shadow was lurking behind the garden observing them.

After two days, a termination letter was received by Chanyeol. Director Zhang ordered that he had to be out of the island next week and Chanyeol was mandated to no longer see Wendy. 

He saw her again after three days. He was asked to see her as the laboratory scientists who supervise her antidote injection cannot calm her down. She was calling his name, they said. The news of the security officer’s departure reached to her. 

When he went to her room, he saw Wendy wailing, overwhelmed by her emotions, her eyes puffy and red, as she choked on her sobs. He embraced her shaking body tightly. The antidotes and concoctions they had given before to her had caused side effects to her hormones that had just now been surfaced. 

"Please don't go," she cried." You're the only one who was left of me, and they're taking you away from me."

"Shhhh," Chanyeol tried to calm her in his embrace." Maybe...maybe this is for the best" he tried to sound firm, but his voice cracked. As Chanyeol drew circles along her back, her breathing slowed down and her wailings mellowed.

A personnel in a white saw this opportunity to inject Wendy the antidote so he approached the magical lady. Wendy then lunged across the man, struck her with her two arms and a bright light suddenly emerged from her eyes that traveled to the eyes of the man. Wendy fainted afterward.

The whole room was in shock. Chanyeol went to Wendy, cradled her lying body and checked her vital signs. She weakly opened her eyes.

"Chanyeol, what's happening? Why do I feel weak?" she said with a fragile voice.

Chanyeol sighed. "Your power was weakened by the antidote they injected to you.The government has ordered to take back your power in return of your freedom."

Wendy just cried on his chest before she passed out.

__________________________

Chanyeol rushed to Yixing's office when he discovered that Wendy's scheduled parole hearing would be canceled in four months due to the incident. If she wants to request parole, she has to wait for 11 months.

"I already agreed to leave; why do you want to take away her freedom and her power?" Chanyeol shouted.

"Well, she did something wrong, and she has to learn her lesson." Yixing eyed him intently.

"Dr. Kim did not even press charges, and he forgave her already," Chanyeol said exasperatedly, wrinkles accentuated his face.

"Do you know why we are keeping Wendy here?" the Director asked him incredulously. "She had completely tainted the government’s reputation. The people clamored to us why are we training criminals. And if we will let her go, they will be apprehensive and anxious knowing that a convicted criminal with supernatural powers will be reinstated to the mainstream life.”

"But she already served two years for her crimes, isn't that enough?" Chanyeol reasoned.

Yixing sighed in irritation. "You will never understand it. People will be restless, they will rally and they will never trust the government. Even if Wendy applies for parole, it will never be approved by the President. He will run for the position again in two years; he must maintain his approval ratings.”

" I think that the government must do everything to make the people feel secure, but they must also teach that even the people who made the worst mistakes, can change.” Chanyeol replied firmly.

"After all, we're just humans having flaws and making impulsive decisions. Why can't we extend compassion towards another?" He added.

Yixing was stunned by Chanyeol's statement. After a few minutes, he spoke, his hand stroking his chin. "Okay, I'll see what I can do."

Chanyeol nodded, realizing he had no other business in his office, turned around and went to the door to leave when he heard Yixing spoke.

"I think Wendy is good for you. Look at what happened; your stuttering disappeared."

Chanyeol was dazed; he didn't even notice his changed behavior.

___________

Chanyeol went to Wendy’s room and he found her sitting on her bed as she looked upon the ceilings.

“Sometimes, I just don’t feel that this will end. That I will just be stuck here forever.” Wendy said with a sad smile. He went to her and embraced her firmly. He wanted to assure her that everything will pass and everything will be fine at the end, but had no faith on it either.

“Why do people always ignore the thousand good things you have done and will just remember that one bad thing?” she whispered through the darkness of her room. Melancholy washed over the place. 

Chanyeol stayed beside her the whole evening. In the morning, he kissed her cheeks fondly, and he left her as she slept peacefully. He had to catch the ship that would lead him back to his home.

___________

Two months later, Chanyeol was seated on his shabby sofa, a beer in hand, as he watched the news show. He had just come home from his temp job working at a paper company. 

“And for our evening news, President Doh has decided to approve Wendy’s parole,” the female newscaster in red said firmly. The television showed the magical woman in court, dressed in an orange set of shirt and pants. Wendy looked calmly upon the judge’s announcement as the camera zoomed on her face. Her lips curled into a placid smile. 

“She will be freed next month. She was convicted of homicide, for accidentally killing the late Vice President and was exiled and imprisoned at the Kang Research.” The newscaster continued.

Chanyeol stared at the television longingly, a drop of tear was released from his eye. She was finally free. They can finally be together.

**THE END**

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and comments for our author! <3 You could also leave a like and share with your friends on Twitter! Just look for our festival thread on @exovelvetwrtrs.


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